![]() In general, like previous space advocates such as Princeton's Gerard K. ![]() They merely serve to suggest that the economic benefits of obtaining such enormous resources would probably far exceed the costs involved in accessing them.) (Of course these numerical values must not be taken too seriously, partly due to the large variations in commodity prices with time, and even more because of the great impact on market prices such huge quantities of materials-especially precious materials-would inevitably have. With its diameter of 2 kilometers and assumed composition similar to typical iron-type meteorites, he calculated a mass of 3 ×10 10 (30 billion) tons and a 1996 market value of $8 trillion for its iron and nickel alone, another $6 trillion for its cobalt, and $6 trillion more for its platinum-group metals. To illustrate this potential, Lewis includes an order-of-magnitude estimate of the economic value of the smallest known metallic ( M-type) near-Earth asteroid: 3554 Amun. Lewis's previous book, Rain of Iron and Ice) on the one hand, and their potential for profitable exploitation on the other. For instance, Chapter 5 ("Asteroids and Comets in our Backyard") exhaustively catalogs the types of near-Earth objects ( asteroids and extinct comets whose orbits intersect Earth's), assessing both the harms likely from possible collisions with Earth (the subject of Prof. Each issue or proposal is evaluated for its effects on humanity, physics and economic feasibility based on planetary science. Lewis that describes possible routes for accessing extraterrestrial resources, either for use on Earth or for enabling space colonization. Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets, is a 1997 book by University of Arizona Planetary Sciences professor emeritus John S. Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets
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